Our Initiative and Vision
We, a group of Israelis and Palestinians, offer a new horizon for reconciliation between the two people, based on the existence of two sovereign states in one open land. The Land of Israel/Palestine is a homeland shared by two people – the Jewish people and the Palestinian people, each having deep historic, religious and cultural connections to the land. All people living in this shared homeland have an equal right to live freely, equally and with dignity, and any agreement must guarantee these rights, in light of the fact that the two solutions currently on the table – separation into two states or the one-state solution – are nowhere close to realization and lead us to a dead end. We believe that a new vision is in order.
More than twenty years have passed since the Oslo Accords, which were supposed to pave the road to a solution that would separate the two nations. Ever since, this solution seems further and further away, rather than closer. The conflict is bloody, and men and women on both sides are losing their hopes for a better future.
Instead of asking who is to blame, we, a group of Israelis and Palestinians, decided to try and find a new solution that would allow us to coexist. In light of this desperate reality, we offer a vision based on new elements – mutual respect, equal rights and cooperation.
We believe that each of the people living here – Israelis and Palestinians – have the right to self-determination in the framework of an independent, sovereign and free state, in which they can control their fates.
At the same time, we recognize and respect the profound connection these two people have to all parts of this land, the Land of Israel/Palestine, and believe that any future agreement must respect this connection.
We believe that the boundaries between these two states must be open to the free movement of civilians from both sides, as long as they respect the rights of all residents.
On the basis of these beliefs, we, Palestinians and Israelis, drafted a shared Statement of Principles to clarify our ideas and address issues such as refugees, the capitals of the two states and the separate and shared institutions of state. We believe that this document is a starting point for a discussion in which all parts of society, on both sides, will participate, to achieve reconciliation based on correcting past wrongs without creating new wrongs and without forcefully uprooting communities and people.
We invite you to join us in thinking and working together to build a better future for us all. This future will not be forced upon us, but rather it will be a future that we desire and will be proud to be part of – Two States, One Homeland.